AltFi News - 02.11.18

The latest news from the world of Alternative Finance and FinTech

In the news this week

We have our latest Unicorn! Banking startup Monzo became the latest UK FinTech firm to reach the coveted unicorn status after securing £85 million, giving it a valuation of £1 billion. Monzo joins Revolut, who achieved Unicorn status earlier this year. Elsewhere, 80% of financial firms will either go out of business or be rendered irrelevant by 2030. That’s according to forecasts by leading research and advisory company Gartner, who predict new competition, changing customer behaviour and advancements in technology will render most banks obsolete.

Trendy challenger bank Monzo is Britain’s latest unicorn startup

Banking startup Monzo became the latest UK firm to reach coveted unicorn status after it secured an £85 million funding round, giving it a valuation of £1 billion. In total, the company has raised almost £192 million from a swathe of top-tier investors, including Stripe, Accel Ventures, and General Catalyst. (TNW)

Within 12 years time, 80% of financial firms will either go out of business or be rendered irrelevant by new competition, changing customer behaviour and advancements in technology, according to forecasts by Gartner. Gartner bills the rump as 'heritage financial firms', existing only formally but not... (Finextra)

Shared digital platforms for banks to make anti-money laundering checks on customers could save money and boost Britain’s fintech sector, a report from TheCityUK and Deloitte said on Thursday. (Reuters)

MoneyThing is considering an overhaul of its secondary market to let investors offer loans at a premium or discounted rate. The business peer-to-peer platform has launched a survey for investors to express their views. (P2P Finance News)

The small business lender is the first to take advantage of Open Banking rules. First, it is connecting with Lloyds Bank, one of the largest banks in the UK, to allow that bank’s customers to submit their transaction history and apply for loans through iwoca. (Finder)

Personal borrowing via loans and credit cards is up 7.7 per cent on last year

London and Singapore named top fintech hubs

London and Singapore have been at the forefront an industry that has grown rapidly in recent years. Investment in fintech globally has rocketed 100% to £30.5bn in the three years to 2017, according to new research. (Economia)

There are all sorts of theoretical reasons why you should keep a firm handle on your competitors and your market, but even if you’ve no intention of ever reading a marketing text book, monitoring your competitors and other developments in your industry provides a wealth of information that you can use in really practical ways...

This is a question that we get asked a lot and while it's understandable that people are looking for a single, unambiguous answer, the reality is it's influenced by many factors ranging from the nature of the product or service to where the business is in its life-cycle...